Founded in 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a forward looking comprehensive research university with a global vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West. As a top university in Hong Kong and Asia, CUHK aims to nurture students with both specialized knowledge and wisdom for life. CUHK teachers and students hail from all corners of the world. We have over 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, of whom 3,000 come from regions outside Hong Kong.

CUHK undertakes a wide range of research programmes in many subject areas, and strives to provide scope for all academic staff to undertake consultancy and collaborative projects with industry. The University also has an excellent record of published research, both in discipline-specific journals and in more high-profile publications such as Science, Nature, and The Lancet.

Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology

The department was established in 1982. The first batch of medical students started to have their clinical orthopaedic teaching in 1983.

On the clinical services, the department developed along the major fields of subspecialties in orthopaedics, from Traumatology, Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, Hand and Microsurgery, Sports Medicine, Paediatric Orthopaedics to Orthopaedic Oncology, Spinal Injury, Joint Reconstruction Surgery to the latest addition of Foot and Ankle Surgery. Many of these subspecialties enjoy significant local, regional and international professional and academic recognition and achievements.

Significant growth has been achieved in the research area. From purely clinical reviews and research, the department has steadily expanded in the years to cover different areas of basic and applied basic research that spread from soft tissue, bone and cartilage to biomaterials, osteoporosis and traditional Chinese medicine. The research committee and the musculoskeletal research laboratory structure now have clear responsibility and function to plan, advise and implement defined policies related to research.

Orthopaedic Learning Centre

The Orthopaedic Learning Centre (OLC) was established in 1999 as an innovative and comprehensive training centre, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, to provide the facility and expertise for the training of the orthopaedic team, with the ultimate aim to provide the highest standard of orthopaedic care to our community.

OLC has been developed into a multi-functional education centre suitable for a variety of audiences with a multitude of meeting needs including hands-on workshop facilities, live surgery relay network, teleconference system, simultaneous interpreting system, participants response system, voting system and wireless LAN. Well-equipped with the latest information technology and audio-visual setups, together with the state-of-the-art bioskill laboratory and computer assisted orthopaedic laboratory, OLC has been the designated center for training of a number of professional bodies and international organizations. Besides, OLC has been certified ISO 9001 compliant by the International Organization for Standardization since 2009 and has successfully acquired the accreditation of the latest ISO 9001:2008 standard in 2010.

Mission

Through the years, the department has grown and developed under the clear Mission and Vision "to provide the highest quality service in patient care, research, education and teaching for medical students and postgraduate training". Colleagues of the department have and will continue to be actively committed to the university, the professional and specialty development, and play important roles in public services, voluntary services and services to the community.

New Emphasis

In anticipation of sharp acceleration in population aging, Commissioner for Census & Statistics projected that about 27 percent of Hong Kong population will be 65 years old or above in 2030s. Resulting from the ever increasing case loads from an aging population in Hong Kong and worldwide, a new subspecialty in orthopaedics / geriatrics: the geri-orthopaedic discipline is emerging as a discrete entity by itself. The complexity of orthopaedic and medical problems seen with each elderly patient also spell out the needs of mobilizing and alerting medical personnel to specialize in this area in order to meet the needs of the society and keep the clinical service up to standard.

Objectives

The aim of the credit-based programmes is to equip graduates with an understanding of the concepts and practical skills that are closely related togeriatric orthopaedics.

These include:

ØTo develop a new subspecialty of geriatric orthopaedics by which medical, surgical and paramedical personnel are trained up to provide quality treatment or caring services in order to improve or maintain the elders’ quality of lives.

ØTo develop a multi-disciplinary subspecialty in orthopaedics so that orthopaedic surgeons, geriatricians, anaesthetists, family physicians and allied health professionals in hospital and community settings are mobilised to work together in the management and caring of fragility fractured patients so as to achieve high quality treatment outcome and prevention of subsequent fractures.

ØTo train researchers and scientists to engage in research programs on geriatric orthopaedics.

ØTo train family physicians to take care of common geriatric orthopaedic condition, promote general health in musculoskeletal systems among the elderly and prevention programs in the community.

ØTo train community practitioners on prevention and early detection of degenerative musculoskeletal conditions.

Target professionals

vOrthopaedic surgeons and Higher Trainees

vPhysicians and Higher Trainees

vGeriatricians

vRehabilitation specialists

vFamily physicians and general practitioners

vAnaesthetists

vSocial workers

vRegistered nurses

vAllied Health workers

Programme Structure

Classes take place on weekday evenings (core subjects tentatively on Wednesdays and Fridays; elective subjects tentatively on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:45p.m. to 9:30p.m.). There are three terms in each academic year, spanning from September to June.

Students are required to obtain passing grades on a total of 25 units for graduation.

Postgraduate Diploma (PgD)

Normative study period: 1 year, maximum study period: 2 years

Students are required to obtain passing grades on a total of 16 units for graduation.

Entry Requirements

Requirements for Admission to MSc Programme:

The applicant shall have:

graduated from a recognized university and obtained a Bachelor's degree, normally with honours not lower than Second Class; or

graduated from an honours programme of a recognized university with a Bachelor's degree, normally achieving an average grade of not lower than "B" in undergraduate courses; or

completed a course of study in a tertiary educational institution and obtained professional or similar qualifications equivalent to an honours degree.

Requirements for Admission to PgD Programme:

The applicant shall have:

graduated from a recognized university and obtained a Bachelor's degree.

In addition to general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants with clinical background are preferred.

All applicants should fulfill the General Requirements for Admission and the English Language Proficiency Requirement prescribed by the Graduate School. For more details, please visit the Graduate Schools homepage at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/gss. Non-local students who meet the entry requirements will be considered.

Graduation Requirements

Attendance of 70% or above of the lectures;

Attendance of all practicum;

Attain grade “C-” or above for final examination;

Meet specific requirement of every course;

Accreditation

Name of the society

No. of points

MSc

PgD

Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeons

15 CME (Cat. A) or

10 CME (Cat. R)

15 CME (Cat. A) or

10 CME (Cat. R)

Hong Kong College of Physicians

To be confirmed

To be confirmed

Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists

15CME

15CME

The Nethersole School of Nursing

234 CNE

195 CNE

Hong Kong Nutrition Association

10 CE

10 CE

Occupational Therapists Board

To be confirmed

To be confirmed

Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association

331 CPD *

195 CPD

* No. of points may vary subject to different courses

Curriculum Structure

Course Code

Subject title

Teaching time

No. of units

Year 1

Year 2

MSc

PgD

Term

Term

Core

GEOR 5101

Basic Medical Science of Degeneration

1

1

1

GEOR 5102

Introduction to Orthopaedics in Aging

3

3

1

GEOR 5103

Community Care

2

2

1

GEOR 5104

Introduction to Geriatrics

3

3

2

GEOR 5105

Geriatric Anaesthesia and Pain Management

2

2

2

GEOR 5106

Rehabilitation of Geriatric Orthopaedic Patients

2

2

3

GEOR 5107

Nursing in Geriatric Orthopaedic Conditions

2

2

3

GEOR 5108

Psychological Changes and Social Aspects of Aging and Long Term Disabilities

Applications will be processed on a continuous and rolling basis and therefore early application is strongly encouraged.

Application forms and package are obtainable at the Graduate School Office of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Room G01, G/F, Academic Building No. 1, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.), or by sending an email to geriortho@ort.cuhk.edu.hk with the applicant's postal address.